London, UK. July 2015. The newly renovated Artesia Hotel needed photos for their website and tourist brochure. Photography Assistant: Paolo Jung. Prop Stylist: Quentin Berger.
Ecotone is a place that is at once a sustainable energy generator, museum, and park, and was a submission for LAGI (Land Art Generator Initiative) 2019.
The LAGI competition centred around Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City; the brief being to ‘design an iconic work of art using renewable energy technology as a medium of creative expression to provide on-site energy production consistent with the master plan of the city.’
The goal of the Land Art Generator is to accelerate the transition to post-carbon economies by providing models of renewable energy infrastructure that add value to public space, inspire, and educate—while providing equitable power to thousands of homes around the world.
Ecotone was among 50 works selected from several hundred entries for publication in Return to the Source.
Industrial designer
Concept + vision designer
Researcher
Writer
Drawing its name from transitional landscapes, Ecotone’s underlying theme is the transition from old to new, from nature to technology, and from the past into the future. Concave solar collectors that convert heat into mechanical energy refer back to simpler times, while convex photovoltaic domes emerge from the landscape proudly displaying modern solar technology.
Location: Masdar City, Abu Dhabi.
Size: 25,000 square meters (300 m x 90 m).
The undulating surface, evoking waves and dunes, invites families and friends to stroll and explore; to settle for an evening picnic and marvel at the solar concentrator dishes tipping towards the heavens or to enjoy the timeless rotation of the stars. The landscape peels up revealing a shady hidden grove of high-tech mangroves that desalinate water for on-site use, while an observation window allows people to see how the solar Stirling engines generate electricity.
Ecotone’s primary power generation is achieved by four giant sun-tracking solar concentrator dishes, which are 15 metres in diameter, and that are linked to subterranean Stirling engines. Reflected sunlight is focused into the centre receptor. Energy is then generated by cyclic compression caused by the expansion of gas at different temperatures, resulting in piston movement inside a cylinder. This process generates electrical energy in a simple, mechanical way.
Photovoltaic dome shelters provide supplemental power and shelter from the sun, however the solar concentrator/Stirling engines produce power at a cheaper rate with higher efficiency than typical solar systems.
As the temperature drops and sun diminishes, Ecotone transforms into a peaceful nightscape. Since the solar collectors have generated power during the day, they now become moving mirrors reflecting the night sky. Well lit shelters become places for meeting up with friends and family, as well as vantage points from which to observe the cosmic mirrors.
The Fossil Tunnel tells the story of Abu Dhabi’s prehistoric flora and fauna. Taking advantage of where Masdar’s GRT (Group Rapid Transit) line intersects the site, the tunnel slices away the landscape revealing fossils of apes, sabre-toothed tigers, double-tusked woolly mammoths, and other creatures that once roamed the region.
While the GRT line was not part of the competition brief, it was a detail I found important to incorporate into the design and narrative.